If
Exene Cervenka
hooked up with
the Jesus and Mary Chain
, they all got wrecked on cheap malt liquor, and they jammed together for a few hours, you might get something that closely resembles
Space and Time
, the second LP from
Miss Alex White & the Red Orchestra
.
White
's gale-force vocals strike the same balance between the passionate and the precarious as
X
's frontwoman, and while
the Red Orchestra
(featuring former members of Detroit slop-
punk
mavens
the Clone Defects
) may lack the polish and willful pose of
the Reid Brothers
, their fondness for noisy guitar solos, feedback and pounding drums puts them in a similar league. While
is loud and raunchy as all get out, it also generates a real sense of drama, and the songs are more than just an excuse for these folks to make noise;
"Lips and Crime"
and
"Poison Arrow"
are potent descents into the sonic void, the title cut is a rollicking celebration of
's significant other,
"I Dig History"
shows these folks can sink a
pop
hook into this stuff when they feel like it, and
"Squeaky Clean"
brings this show to a close with gloriously noisy finality.
and her band may keep things simple on this album, but they connect with both muscle and musical street smarts, and the result is a wild and sweaty good time preserved for the ages. Fine stuff. ~ Mark Deming